The unmistakable sound of the sour, missed notes call me out again and again.
You may recall from a recent blog post that I am teaching myself to play the piano. My mom would be pleased.
One of the challenges I’ve faced with this endeavor is being called out so often for my mistakes. You hear your errors loud and clear. There is no “close” with playing the piano like there is in horseshoes or hand grenades. You either hit the right note or you don’t. There doesn’t need to be a piano teacher in the room to let you know when you are wrong.
I have found it interesting that when I hit the wrong note I immediately stop. As a basketball player, when I would make a mistake I would just keep going. The action didn’t cease for me to review my blunder. You forgot about it and you moved on.
That is a mentality I am trying to create for myself with the piano. I must admit there have been times when I’ve considered just quitting. I don’t need to do this. I’ll never play a concert for anyone nor will anyone ask me to play at their big event. This morning I saw this poem titled Don’t Quit by John Greenleaf Whittier somewhere on the internet and I immediately thought of my seemingly failing efforts at the big toothed instrument:
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is strange with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow-
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man.
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup.
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out-
The silver tints of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit-
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit!
It takes courage to continue to fight a battle that seems lost. While I wouldn’t consider playing the piano a battle, it certainly is a challenge for me. We only fail when we quit so I will continue to plink away at the keys knowing that in spite of the sour notes making me fully aware of my mistakes, there aren’t as many of them as there were last week.
This poem is about so much more than playing the piano for me. As I’ve processed this over the last few hours I have become very aware of the many times I’ve quit too soon. Most of the battles we face are much bigger than voluntarily choosing to do something.
Are there battles you are fighting today? Have the courage to keep struggling with the knowledge you are likely closer to your goal than you think!
Do you need a speaker for an upcoming event? I’d love to be that guy. You can reach me at dave@cultivatecourage.com or 952-200-7499.
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